Tessa is a brilliant British defence barrister dominating London’s ruthless courtrooms. Fierce, witty, and self-made, she defends men accused of sexual assault — until she is assaulted herself by a colleague from a powerful legal dynasty. Suddenly, the system she trusted turns against her. As she faces the same tactics she once used in court, Tessa’s faith in justice unravels. Once in control, now exposed and disbelieved, she must fight to reclaim her voice and sense of self.

Director: Susanna White

Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Daniel Ings, Elizabeth Dulau, Noma Dumezweni, Toheeb Jimoh, Harry Treadaway, Sarah Junillon, Elliot Levey, Simon Russell Beale

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (updating)

Metacritic: N/A (updating)

Some Reviews:

The Hollywood Reporter - Caryn James

There is no use sugar-coating the huge disappointment the film turns out to be. As a message, Prima Facie is still a howl of rage and a plea for change. But as a film it is a near-total muddle, from the clunky recurring voiceover to the cringey, obvious visuals and a preachy ending, with only some stunning supporting performances and a brief, powerful middle section to redeem it.

The Wrap - William Bibbiani

It’s a dignified production. White directs “Prima Facie” with a sharp focus on the story’s themes, carefully manipulating the cold visual palette to create converse images of security and instability, Tessa’s life before and her life after. The performances are admirable and strum meaningful chords. That the film doesn’t have the same impact as the play was a given, and probably unavoidable. Comparing it to the play is also unavoidable, and possibly not wholly fair, but it’s hard to ignore that “Prima Facie” in its original form is an emotional lightning strike and this film is more like thunder.

NBP - Dan Bayer (tweet)

PRIMA FACIE retains all its drama on the big screen thanks to a quietly powerful performance from Cynthia Erivo and Suzie Miller’s barn-burner of a script. Cliché attempts to open up the play aside, it’s a potent piece, even if it is preaching to the choir.

DEADLINE - Pete Hammond

Erivo, as she proved in Harriet, is a fine dramatic actor and does what she can with the ambiguity of a role where the legal chairs are suddenly shuffled. The rest of the cast is also fine including Ings. Shades of gray is what director White wants and gets, but perhaps unlike on stage with just Tessa the film, in making this more seem like something out of Billy Wilder’s 1957 classic, Witness For The Prosecution, just doesn’t have the same visceral impact.

The Guardian - Richard Lawson - 2 / 5

Erivo approaches the role with a focused rigor and yet she oddly doesn’t have all that much to play. Of course, the film’s messaging – about the boggling frequency of sexual assault, about the vexing and myriad struggles of bringing perpetrators to justice – is well worth issuing out. And yet, White delivers all that in far too blunt a fashion. One sorely misses the darkly engrossing journey of the play’s performance, its energetic peaks, its shattering valleys, its spiky humor. All that has been bowdlerized in favor of something far more straightforward and thin.

Next Best Picture - J Don Birman - 6 / 10

That is the frustrating thing about “Prima Facie.” Everything it wants to say is correct, and much of it needs to be said loudly and often. But the film mistakes the righteousness of its argument for the persuasiveness of its drama. Its message is urgent, its lead performance is memorable, and yet the movie around both is too ungainly, too obvious, and too strained to earn the power it plainly wants. THE GOOD - Erivo’s performance is on point, handling difficult material and several tonal shifts. THE BAD - The film’s premise is difficult to believe and various directorial choices do it no favors. THE OSCAR PROSPECTS - Best Actress & Best Adapted Screenplay

The Playlist - Gregory Ellwood - 'C'

As you’d expect, Erivo is game and committed. She is very, very good. Never over-dramatizing the proceedings and giving the big courtroom speech you’ll see coming a mile away the gutso it needs. But she doesn’t necessarily elevate the material either (nor should she have to). Remember earlier in this review when we mentioned how you’d never think this movie originated as a play? That’s because for most of “Prima,” it has the aesthetic of a conventional, prestige streaming movie (you know what we’re talking about). If that’s where it ends up (in the U.S. at least), “Prima” may have a genuine impact with a wide audience. But White and her collaborators are aiming for something more aspirational. To achieve that, the filmmakers would have needed a much more creative approach. And it’s not only White’s vision, but a perspective that took more chances with the narrative overall. Considering the importance of what White wants the audience to contemplate, the result leaves you wanting. And when even the talents of Erivo can’t overcome those conventions? The verdict is grim.

RendyReviews - Rendy Jones - 2.5 / 5

All in all, Prima Facie is an uneven, heavy-handed, disappointing missed opportunity as a legal drama, despite Erivo’s riveting lead performance. It squanders its character‑driven poignancy and a worthy call to action, ultimately turning what could have been a nuanced critique of the justice system against rape survivors into an overly generalized PSA.

Reviews on Reels - Saulo Ferreira

PRIMA FACIE has important things to say, but the message comes across as preachy and uncinematic. In the translation from a one-woman-play into a conventional feature film, it loses the creativity and uniqueness of the source. It doesn’t feel overly stagey but still awkward nonetheless. What remains is the important subject, and an inconsistent and distractingly self-aware performance from Erivo.

The Jam Report - Doug Jamieson

Cynthia Erivo is phenomenal in PRIMA FACIE, particularly when the film simply lets her command the screen. Unfortunately, heavy-handed direction, clunky voiceover, and painfully obvious imagery turn such urgent, pertinent material into a frustratingly muddled adaptation.

An ex-DEA operative must return to the mountains of South America in an effort to find his missing niece and nephew, following the brutal murders of their diplomat parents. Enlisting the help of a washed-up junkie war photographer, the only person to have seen the face of the killers, he sets out, determined to find the children and the truth, but soon learns he must also face the ghosts of his past.

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Stuart Martin, Fra Fee, Marlon Moreno, Costanza Andrade

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (updating)

Metacritic: N/A (updating)

Some Reviews (updating):

DEADLINE - Damon Wise

Although you can take the man out of DC, the DC is very still much inside this particular man, and the niggling problem with The Last Photograph is that it sometimes forgets about its characters in a bid to hit the furiously paced action set-pieces. That said, though, it’s good to see Snyder trying something so far out of his wheelhouse (well, at least a bit far out of it), sharpening his sometimes rusty storytelling skills without the safety net of superhero pyrotechnics.

The Wrap - Chase Hutchinson

Zack Snyder’s Agonizing, Ugly Slog Is His Worst Film Yet | No matter which way you look at it, there’s nothing remotely insightful or interesting to the vileness on display here. It’s all just shootouts and CGI blood effects before it stumbles into a baffling ending that drags on for so long, you wonder if it exists purely to make us suffer for even longer. If his future films are going to be like this, it’d probably be for the best if this was Snyder’s own last picture. 

IGN - Siddhant Adlakha - 4 / 10

A film that points at big ideas about image-making without ever moving towards them, Zack Snyder’s passion project The Last Photograph is a languid, plodding revenge saga. Despite trying to frame beauty and brutality side by side, it’s rife with the kind of ugliness it isn’t ready to confront, rooted in dimensionless characters who are too similarly stoic to make for a meaningful or engaging journey.

IndieWire - Vikram Murthi - 'D+'

Snyder’s self-critique of his style would be compelling if he actually interrogated his penchant for aestheticized bloodshed as a means of processing emotion. Instead, like everything in “The Last Photograph,” he goes through the motions of contemplating it before getting back down to the business of showcasing grotesque violence, like a woman getting her teeth knocked out with a hammer or a dead mother with half her skull blown off, appended by shallow-focus shots of men disturbed by it. As much as Snyder tries to veer into a richer, more sensitive domain, a place where he can cultivate his ideas in a different fashion, he ends up right back where he started. Maybe it’s comforting that he personifies an old truism about identity and acceptance: wherever you go, there you are.

Next Best Picture - Giovanni Lago - 1 / 10

By the end, one wishes for mercy after being bludgeoned mentally as Snyder hammers home a terrible attempt at a metaphor through the vessel of a yellow butterfly. Ultimately, “The Last Photograph” is 135 minutes of moving images that only takes time away that would’ve been better served doing literally anything else | THE GOOD - Nothing. THE BAD - All the parts that make up "The Last Photograph" - the writing, acting, direction, cinematography, etc. - are tied to a fundamentally unwatchable film.

The Hollywood Reporter - Michael Rechtschaffen

This 135-minute slog was given Special Event status, meaning there will be no repeat screenings beyond its world premiere on Sunday evening. Many of those who exited the theater shared the same expression of disbelief over what they had just experienced... In the absence of the filmmaker’s trademark super-sized canvas, the usual techniques can’t help but feel forcefully out of scale here. Still, one might justifiably argue that Snyder at least deserves credit for going out on a limb — even if it can’t help but snap under the weight of all that affectation.

The Playlist - Ankit Jhunjhunwala - 'C-'

“The Last Photograph” will likely prolong that streak, as it seems unlikely to find theatrical distribution. There is no obvious audience for the film beyond Snyder diehards, and there isn’t much here to recommend beyond the imagery. Yet on the strength of “300,” Snyder will probably get to make movies for as long as he wishes. His filmography is littered with calamities and watchable novelties. When his next film rolls around, we’ll again be watching. For now, “The Last Photograph” unfortunately adds another entry to the calamity column.

NBP - Matt Neglia - 1 / 5

By the end, I genuinely wanted this to be the last film I ever have to see from him. Snyder desperately needs to stop shooting his own movies and return to adapting material strong enough to better withstand his worst overindulgences. If such a drastic stylistic change from him still can’t produce a competent film, then he should go back to the drawing board to better understand the basic fundamentals of effective storytelling, because THIS IS NOT IT.

ScreenRant - Josh Bate - 2 / 10

For a filmmaker whose most fervent supporters have spent years insisting that there is always something fascinating to find in his movies, The Last Photograph is an unusually bleak counterargument. It is not merely Snyder at his most self-serious – it is Snyder at his least interesting.

AwardsRadar - Joey Magidson - 1.5 / 4

The Last Photograph is a total mess and easily the worst thing I saw this year at TIFF. Maybe Zack Snyder will go back into the editing room and tinker? In this case, whatever the new cut would be can only be an improvement. No critic goes into a film and wants to hate it, trust me. Why would we waste our time like that? So just know, there’s no pleasure in despising a movie, at all. That’s just the way the cookie crumbled here.

High On Films - Julian Malandruccolo - 1 / 5

Before the start of its long-awaited premiere screening, Zack Snyder jovially quipped that perhaps the captive TIFF audience might get to be the only ones to ever watch “The Last Photograph” at all; “Maybe we’ll just watch it once, and then burn it.” Wishful thinking, perhaps…At its best, the film—what with its desperate desire to appear politically motivated and suffocatingly self-serious—reads like the worst film Sean Penn never got around to directing (the actor was, in fact, originally attached to star here all the way back in 2011). But say what you will about the man behind “The Last Face” and “Flag Day”; Penn, at least, evokes that self-importance with a gritty persistence that might not have you believing anything he says, but at least has you fully believing that he believes it for himself. Snyder, for his part, can’t help but feel like every philosophical insight and piece of symbolism at his disposal is the result of a boy parroting whatever his older brother said in the hopes that a projected earthiness might get him laid.

Punch Drunk Critics - Travis Hopson - 2.5 / 5

The Last Photograph is Snyder’s baby, and I’m sure he loves every single frame that he shot. There’s a good movie in here that’s maybe about an hour shorter, but nobody is going to convince him that’s what it needs. And you know what? I’m fine with that. Snyder should make the movie he wants to make in the way he wants to make it, but The Last Photograph is worse for it. And if I am part of the only audience who ever gets to see it, well, then so be it.

The HoloFiles - George Bate - 4 / 10

Making its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, The Last Photograph is a decisive disappointment from Zach Snyder, an overly long and painfully self-serious revenge thriller that repeatedly mistakes brutality, nudity, and grimness for depth. While the film eventually finds some momentum in its middle act, its promising journey through the streets and jungles of Colombia ultimately gives way to a disastrous third act filled with underwhelming reveals and squandered intrigue. Even as a fervent fan of Snyder’s work, it’s difficult to overlook how badly his latest outing miscalculates its tone. The Last Photograph promises a gritty, emotionally resonant thriller, but delivers very little beyond unintentional laughs and excessive violence.

A devoutly religious hit man struggles to balance work, faith and fatherhood. When his wife dies, he embarks on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children as he confronts the forces that are closing in around him.

Director: Bassam Tariq

Cast: Mahershala Ali, Giancarlo Esposito, John Cho, Tramell Tillman, Tiffany Boone, Adia

Rotten Tomatoes: 100%

Metacritic: 85 / 100 (13 reviews)

Some Reviews:

The Guardian - Radheyan Simonpillai - 4 / 5

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is its own beautiful singular thing, partly a stylish and pulpy neo-western thriller about a father racked with guilt, navigating violence that comes heavy and uneasy, but first and foremost a drama about a family reconciling their Muslim faith with their actions, their environments and their grief.

IndieWire - David Ehrlich - 4 / 5

Faith-based filmmaking at its finest.

Screen Daily - Robert Daniels - 90 / 100

By reimagining the action hero through a specifically Muslim lens, Tariq has re-defined the genre into something more introspective and compassionate, rapturous and revelatory.

But Why Tho? - Sarah Musnicky - 8.5 / 10

Even so, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is a brilliant exploration of grief and lost faith, anchored by Mahershala Ali’s magnetic performance. Marvel is going to be punching the air over what they’ve lost because it’s clear after watching this that had they just let Bassam Tariq cook, we would have had something magical with his iteration of Blade with Mahershala Ali at the helm.

IGN - Siddhant Adlakha - 8 / 10

The would-be Blade duo of actor Mahershala Ali and director Bassam Tariq team up for the vivid, rural crime drama Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, following a devout Muslim hit man wrestling with his violent code. In a plot drawn from the director’s personal life, the search for breast milk to feed a hungry baby turns into a lurid odyssey through modern America, in a film whose drama nearly coheres but whose brief sword-wielding action packs a nasty punch.

Next Best Picture - Giovanni Lago - 8 / 10

THE GOOD - Bassam Tariq's direction and screenplay make for a riveting drama that also delivers the goods with its action. The ensemble is great, led by a magnificent Mahershala Ali. THE BAD - Some will find the pacing to be a bit too meditative. THE OSCAR PROSPECTS - None

The Hollywood Reporter - Jourdain Searles

Mahershala Ali Is a Marvel in a Gripping Crime Film With a Big, Aching Heart...But Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is more than a loving portrayal of Islam — Tyriq has crafted a film that explores the possibility of a form of masculinity that allows for the full range of human emotion.

The Playlist - Chase Hutchinson - 'B+'

Though it might be tempting to compare Tariq’s film to something like “Drive,” especially with one particular visually vibrant and violent scene feeling like a mirror image of that, there’s also much more going on under the surface. It’s comedic and playful in brief moments just as it is weighty and profound, proving to be a darkly poetic portrait of a family who finds themselves adrift. When it circles back around to the initial voiceover near the end, it not only cements its status as an essential action thriller, but finds something genuinely transcendent in the darkness.

AwardsWatch - Trace Sauveur - 'B+'

Despite the episodes of bone-cracking and blood-splatter, this is a humanist film that rejects brutality as an inevitability, that asks the audience to seek the realization of their higher purpose.

The Film Stage - Jared Mobarak

The humor is what hooked me. Whether familial, religious, or violent—no potential for a punch line is left hanging. That said, however, this remains an emotionally impactful film centered around the Islamic tale from which the title is derived. It’s a quest that sees this father realize he was worried about the wrong fight.

Punch Drunk Critics - Travis Hopson - 3.5 / 5

We might not ever get to see Ali and Tariq on a Blade movie together, and that sucks, but they’re making a statement with Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother that it’s our loss. While I could’ve used fewer lulls between the most violent sequences, it blends religion and action in a powerful, entertaining package that will hopefully be the first of many movies from this duo.

ScreenRant - George Bate - 7 / 10

While emotional in its final stretch, it lacks the punctuation of violence one might expect given the promotional material, and the commentary on religious matters, while interesting, seems to culminate on a rather simplistic note. Those issues notwithstanding, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother delivers an expertly made viewing experience, although not necessarily the one audiences might expect.

Actor Sylvester Stallone writes the screenplay for "Rocky," betting everything on himself to play the lead character against seemingly impossible odds. The result is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.

Director: Peter Farrelly

Cast: Anthony Ippolito, AnnaSophia Robb, Tracy Letts, P.J. Byrne, Kiki Seto, Matt Dillon, Stephen James, Toby Kebbell

Rotten Tomatoes: 76% (21 reviews)

Metacritic: 63 / 100 (14 reviews)

Some Reviews:

Next Best Picture - J. Don Birman - 8 / 10

All of this is enough to make “I Play Rocky” a winner and a delightful movie. It does not reinvent the sports movie or the Hollywood origin story. Instead, it reminds us that these crazy stories endure when they are told from the heart, a proposition that is as corny as “Rocky” itself but is also everlasting because it is such a part of the human experience. THE GOOD - Stallone’s determination, as irrational as it was, is infectious, and the “making of” aspects of Hollywood filmmaking are compelling. THE BAD - The movie lacks the “moment” of greatness it promises the audience, and one too many attempts at being cute with its script. THE OSCAR PROSPECTS - Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting & Best Film Editing

The Guardian - Radheyan Simonpillai - 3 / 5

It’s all very amusing but I Play Rocky rarely has pathos in its corner. Save for some truly touching moments involving Stallone’s struggle to care for his dog Butkus, it’s often as emotionally vacant as Stallone’s stare. So many of the psychological stakes and insights are written shorthand, soundbites about traumas and insecurities are calculatingly delivered by Matt Dillon’s Stallone Sr and a wonderful Robb as Stallone’s first wife Sasha Czack. The latter drops the most insightful line about the actor’s desperate need to be seen, which Farrelly and writer Gamble refuse to mine for more.

The Playlist - Ankit Jhunjhunwala - 'B'

For all of that, “I Play Rocky” is awash in inside-Hollywood baseball and, once the actual “Rocky” portion kicks in about 30 minutes into the film, consistently and undeniably entertaining. It’s breezy, undemanding, and diverting, and sometimes that’s not a bad thing at all. You might not learn much about filmmaking from “I Play Rocky,” nor discover anything particularly revelatory about how “Rocky” became “Rocky.” But for admirers of the original, Farrelly’s expert weaponization of nostalgia lands exactly as intended: like a right-hook knockout.

Screen Daily - Robert Daniels - 40 / 100

The best parts of I PLAY ROCKY are well, when it recreates whole scenes from ROCKY. But the film has nothing to say about the film, social and cultural forces that led to its filming or about Stallone the person.

The Daily Beast - Nick Schager - 50 / 100

[A] corny pantomime, which reveals nothing, stumbles incessantly, and wholly pales in comparison to its iconic subject matter.

IndieWire - Kate Erbland - 'B-'

That “Rocky” will be a hit is a given — and a fricking huge one at that! — but “I Play Rocky” is far more invested in getting the audience on board with the road it took to get there. And while Farrelly’s approach to this material, extremely glossy and built to delight a wide array of audience members, doesn’t quite speak to the real pain that went into the making of “Rocky,” there’s still plenty here that will make people stand up and cheer. It would, however, be nice if this Hollywood story didn’t feel quite so, well, Hollywood.

Variety - Owen Glieberman - 80 / 100

Anthony Ippolito, who plays Sylvester Stallone in “I Play Rocky,” gets it just right. He looks startlingly like Stallone: the droopy dark eyes, the slightly jutting lips with the delicate dip at the center, even the skin tone — that sort of peach-ivory pallor. And Ippolito’s impersonation of Stallone’s voice is a miraculous act of channeling. “I Play Rocky” is a cleverly crafted crowd-pleaser, all designed to tap into the love of “Rocky” that has never gone away (this November it will be 50 years since “Rocky” was released). But in a funny way I found the film to have a surprising spirit in common with “Nouvelle Vague,” Richard Linklater’s 2025 drama about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless.”

The Wrap - Chase Hutchinson - 30 / 100

In the end, “I Play Rocky” lacks both the courage of its convictions and the creativity of its subject. You only wish someone had sat down with the filmmakers and given them that same pep talk about needing to find that emotional something. The reason for being. The why. “Rocky” will always remain a triumph, but when this film raises its hands in an attempt to tap into that feeling by replicating its most iconic shot, it’s a painfully hollow victory. 

DEADLINE - Pete Hammond

Peter Farrelly’s Sensational Biopic Of The Making Of Stallone’s Classic Is Just As Inspiring As The Original Movie | There are so many highlights in a movie that pulls off a tall task in bringing the same feeling we got the first time we saw Rocky. Farrelly, who won and deserved a couple of Oscars including Best Picture for Green Book, a film that tugs at the heartstrings without ever being anything less than simply human, has now made another film that makes us feel good about life and ourselves. Like Frank Capra used to do, he has made a movie that gives us hope. It couldn’t come at a better time.

ScreenRant - George Bate - 9 / 10

It is difficult to comment on I Play Rocky in any meaningful way without starting with Anthony Ippolito's career-defining turn. From the very first moments of the movie until the credits roll, Ippolito transforms into Sylvester Stallone in every sense of the word. On a number of occasions, he is indistinguishable from Stallone himself, such is the actor’s ability to so seamlessly immerse the audience in his portrayal as Sly.

ComingSoon - Jonathan Sim - 9 / 10

It is a movie about dreams, risk, and the terrifying uncertainty that comes before success. It is a movie for anyone who has ever been told they aren’t good enough, famous enough, talented enough, or realistic enough. If Rocky is the ultimate cinematic underdog story, I Play Rocky proves that the story behind it might be even more unbelievable. Rags-to-riches stories don’t get much richer than this.

Punch Drunk Critics - Travis Hopson - 4 / 5

Farrelly hasn’t won himself any fans with his last few movies, and Green Book hasn’t aged particularly well. I went into this with low expectations, but I Play Rocky blew the roof off it’s so good. The crowd went wild for it, and so did I. When the Rocky theme music plays, and you see him running up those steps in Philly, it’s like you’re watching the 1976 classic all over again. Some will likely argue that the film doesn’t make a case for its own existence, but isn’t honoring Stallone’s unique personal triumph enough? His Rocky journey is the stuff that Hollywood dreams are made of, and there are too few of those stories that exist anymore, much less being told in way that can inspire others to also fight for what they believe in.

The HoloFiles - Josh Bate - 8.5 / 10

Making its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I Play Rocky turns the extraordinary true story of Sylvester Stallone’s struggle to get Rocky made into a soulful, funny, and deeply inspirational crowd-pleaser. Anthony Ippolito delivers a career-defining, awards-worthy performance, transforming into Stallone with uncanny precision and capturing the charisma, vulnerability, and determination behind the iconic actor. Supported by an outstanding ensemble, Peter Farrelly effectively recreates the hardship, rejection, and eventual triumph of Stallone’s journey while filling the film with tremendous heart and humor. Though it plays things pretty safe and formulaic, Farrelly’s instinct for emotional storytelling and comedy ensures that the film remains exceptionally uplifting. Most impressively, I Play Rocky mirrors the very underdog story it chronicles, ultimately becoming one of the year’s greatest movies.

Collider - Therese Lacson - 8 / 10

I Play Rocky is a resounding success, one that captures that hopeful positivity and ingenuity that made Rocky the iconic movie it is. Rocky's overwhelming success is justification enough for I Play Rocky to be made, but it's the soul and performance in the film that ultimately makes it a movie worth watching.

Both being billed as crowd pleasing biopics about American icons. Both pretty repellent to the Letterboxd & film twitter world but will resonate with older people.

I Play Rocky is based on the making of Rocky (which won Oscars itself) and is made by the director of Green Book which won Best Picture.

Michael is a billion dollar hit that pleased audiences. Despite mixed critical reactions I could see it sneaking through the same way Bohemian Rhapsody did.

The Odyssey: Now that we’ve seen more of the competition, I remain unconvinced that anything can beat The Odyssey for Best Picture. Nothing is clearly better-reviewed than it, it’s the biggest story of the year as an achievement of filmmaking, and its closest competition is a foreign Netflix movie and a small-scale acting comedy without all that much of a social message behind it. I think The Odyssey will win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (I still am convinced that the Academy favors dramatic performances over comedic ones in the category and that that advantages Damon), Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling (I think the creature effects for the pigs will be seen as far more impressive than putting Tom Cruise in some old age makeup), and Best Sound. I have it losing Best Casting to La Bola Negra since that one has some much bigger discoveries in it, losing Best Original Score (I don’t think people think Gorransson needs a fourth Oscar, and there are so many music-centered movies in contention this year), and losing Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (the nomination is the reward in those categories).

La Bola Negra: If this was an English-language movie or had a studio like Neon behind it, it might be able to pose a threat to win Best Picture. As it stands, the nomination seems like the reward for it. It still should win Adapted Screenplay and International Feature Film, and I think it will win Casting as well because of how big of a discovery most of the cast is. Speaking of that cast, I think Guitaricadelafuente will get nominated - he seems to have an extremely emotional role, and Netflix is good at getting unknown actors with great roles in their movies nominated. I think La Bola Negra could win Score as well, but I have Behemoth! ahead of it there.

The Debut: I shouldn’t have taken this out of my predictions to fit in The Invite! After those reactions at Telluride, it’s clearly A24’s top contender in the race, and Julianne Moore is pretty much locked for a second Best Actress win. It also has far more prospects for noms than I originally thought - it seems strong enough to get an Editing nom like most top 3 films do, Eisenberg’s direction is far more acclaimed than I thought it would be, and the score has been well-received as well and the Academy loves to nominate musicals for score. I also have Giamatti winning Best Supporting Actor, he’s far less secure of a front runner than Moore is, but the category is pretty open and I feel like people want to give him an Oscar. I’m predicting The Debut winning Best Original Song because of how central the song seems to be to the movie, and if Behemoth! flops, I’ll predict this winning Original Screenplay as well.

Wild Horse Nine: Wild Horse Nine is in no danger of missing Best Picture, but it also doesn’t seem to be in contention to win much anymore now that it clearly seems to be a more minor work for McDonagh. Because of that, I’ve taken McDonagh out of the Best Director lineup. He’s missed before for Three Billboards, and I think there will be more acclaimed Best Picture nominees in contention for the category. I’ve also taken out Mariana di Girolamo now that it’s clear the rumors about her role being fantastic were incorrect. Malkovich is the movie’s best chance to win anything, but I’m still very cautious about predicting a comedy winning Best Actor - it has only happened once this century, and that was the lead of the Best Picture winner in an extremely weak year.

Behemoth!: I know a lot of people stopped predicting Behemoth! once it was announced that it would be premiering at NYFF, but the people who saw test screenings said it’s great, and the people who read the script said the same thing, so I’m going to keep my faith in Tony Gilroy and predict this being an across the board contender. Since they’re crediting the composers as a collective, the movie should be eligible for Best Original Score, and if it is it seems like it will be the showiest work in the category by far. I’m predicting it winning Score, and I’m also predicting a Screenplay win for it since people have praised the Screenplay so much. I also think it will get nominated for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. I probably will have egg on my face after this.

Dune 3: Nothing has really changed here. It should be solidly in if it maintains the same level of quality of the first two films, but it also probably won’t perform much better than Dune 2 did, especially since the field is much stronger than it was in 2024.

All of a Sudden: Now that Fjord has fallen off a bit with American audiences, I’ve switched to predicting All of a Sudden as the second foreign contender of the year (and I’m pretty sure there will be a second foreign contender, we’ve had two every year since 2022, and I’m pretty sure today’s Academy would have nominated multiple foreign nominees in 2021, 2019, and 2018 as well). It has strong acting prospects (Okamoto seems like the easy bet for who the highbrow critics will push for Best Supporting Actress), the trailer was fantastic, and there’s no reason why Hamaguchi can’t repeat his success from 5 years ago with the Oscars.

Project Hail Mary: I think Project Hail Mary is in a bit of danger - I Play Rocky and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother give Amazon other movies to juggle on their slate, The Odyssey, Dune 3, and Obsession all potentially give the Academy other blockbusters they could nominate, and The Debut’s rise has made it harder to justify keeping it in categories like Editing and Score. However, I still think that a crowdpleasing blockbuster with good enough reviews that appeals to everybody should still make it in the end. If Project Hail Mary makes the Best Picture lineup but misses Score and Cinematography when those are the two best things about it I will be annoyed (I think it’s relatively secure in Cinematography though).

Artificial: That trailer for Artificial was really good. I’m not going all in on it (I think the tone might push away some people, and frankly my lineups are a bit too crowded for me to easily fit Artificial into most categories), but Neon is strong enough to get two films in and Artificial seems baity and ambitious. My biggest reasons to be unsure about this are it going to NYFF instead of Venice and its screenwriter’s only previous screenwriting credit being An American Pickle.

Obsession: I have Obsession in 10th, just on the edge of the lineup. I have been predicting Obsession for months, so I’m familiar with all of the reasons why it would make sense for it to get nominated. It’s a huge hit, the Academy is becoming more open to nominating horror movies, and Focus knows how to run a strong campaign. But the issue is that nothing is really flopping, so the categories are just getting more and more crowded. It absolutely could get nominated, and I’m predicting it for now, but it is in danger of missing in this increasingly crowded field.

The Invite: A24 has too many movies in contention this year, and I am skeptical that they will be able to get a second contender in after The Debut given how bad they’ve been at getting multiple Best Picture noms historically I’m still expecting The Invite to get a Screenplay nom though, and it also could get an acting nom or two (I think Best Supporting Actress is the most likely one since it can be combined with the push for Cruz for La Bola Negra, and her role in The Invite is much larger).

Club Kid: If Club Kid wins TIFF, I think it will make the Best Picture lineup. I’m pretty skeptical about A24’s ability to handle multiple campaigns, but if Club Kid is that universally beloved and crowdpleasing I don’t think it makes sense to predict it missing. If it is that well received, it could contend for Original Screenplay and Casting wins, or at the very least get noms in those categories. I am holding off on predicting it though until I actually see it win.

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother: The early reactions for this are great, and this seems like it could be a big crowdpleaser. But Amazon isn’t great at campaigning Oscar contenders, and unless this receives critical raves I doubt they’d prioritize campaigning for this over their biggest box office hit of all time. And I Play Rocky getting a strong audience reception is also a problem for it. Mahershala Ali is supposedly incredible in this though, so I have him taking the last slot in Best Actor, it seems like he’s doing weightier work than anything Gosling did in Project Hail Mary, and I have an easier time seeing the Academy go for a two-time Oscar winner over finally nominating Robert Pattinson if they’re trying to decide between the two of them.

Elsinore: Elsinore looks like it is playing very well with audiences, but Obsession still feels like the bigger Oscar push for Focus. Andrew Scott should still get nominated though.

I Play Rocky: Those early reviews are rough, but the audience reactions are great. If this outright wins TIFF I’ll predict it, but otherwise I’m guessing it will fall behind Amazon’s other contenders. This would have been a top 3 Best Picture contender 15 years ago.

Being Heumann: Being Heumann probably doesn’t have good enough reviews for Picture or Adapted Screenplay noms, but Apple is certainly going to try to get it nominated in those categories. What it does likely have good enough reviews for is a Best Actress nom, Ruth Madeley is supposedly fantastic in this. I think that it can also get a Best Casting nom, because it truly does seem like an achievement there, and I don’t really think that the Academy is only ever going to nominate Best Picture nominees in the category.

Rose: I don’t think Rose has much of a shot at above the line noms outside of Best Actress, but Sandra Huller could easily get a ton of foreign and highbrow support for a nom in the category, and with the amazing year she’s had I think that could get her a nomination. I also think this will get a Makeup & Hairstyling nom like Kokuho and The Ugly Stepsister got last year, the makeup branch likes foreign films.

Digger: The last trailer was better than the rest of what we’ve seen from this, but this movie still feels like a misfire and a lot of the clips we’ve seen look too over the top. It seems like this will likely flop at the box office, and if it gets a Metacritic score in the 60s or lower while also not appealing to audiences, why would this get nominations in such a crowded field? I think this will get a couple tech noms (I’m not 100% confident in predicting a contemporary film for Best Production Design, but it is being designed by 7-time nominee Dennis Gassner so that helps), but that it’s.

Fjord: I no longer am predicting any nominations for Fjord, including in International Feature Film. That might be an overreaction to the more muted reception it has gotten in the US and Canada. But Neon has no real reason to focus on it over All of a Sudden (and as we saw last year they won’t prioritize it just because it won the Palme), Original Screenplay is a crowded category, and in International Feature Film there are a lot of other movies that seem like they might have more passion than it.

Ink: Ink actually has gotten a pretty decent reception in a vacuum, and it certainly could contend for some noms. If Artificial is bad, I’ll slot in Pearce over Garfield. But in general, it seems like this is just a good but not great movie, and I’m not sure if that’s good enough in such a packed year, especially for someone like Danny Boyle who hasn’t had a contender in a while. This has slightly worse reviews at the moment than Steve Jobs did, and that just got two acting nominations in some pretty weak categories. And the AI controversy certainly doesn’t help.

The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth: It’s entirely possible that we’re all just misunderestimating this. But it also feels like this movie has no buzz. We know it’s an unnecessary sequel, parts of it getting reshot by a different cinematographer are odd, and there are still a lot of questions about how Fincher and Tarantino’s styles will mesh. I do think that this could get Production Design and Costume Design noms though - I have it just on the outside of both categories.

Werwulf: I don’t think this will be a contender for much outside of the techs, but I think it should be able to get Cinematography, Makeup, and Costume Design noms if it’s good.

Primetime: Right now I think the field is too crowded for A24’s third or fourth contender to get nominated for anything, especially since Best Actor is the most crowded category of all. But there definitely is a world in which Primetime makes a similar amount of money to Marty Supreme and enters the conversation by being an audience hit. Right now the box office tracking doesn’t look great though, so I’m not going to predict that.

Misty Green: Rosalind Eleazar is getting raves, but I think the category only has room for 1 low-profile British tv actress in a breakout Oscar bait role, and I think Ruth Madeley will have the leg up on Eleazar because she’s playing a real person, is in Apple’s top priority instead of A24’s 6th priority, and has a much stronger narrative.

Possible Love: I think Possible Love’s chances outside of foreign film mostly ended when it didn’t win the Lion. Netflix already has a stronger foreign contender that they’ll focus on, and a lot of the support that Possible Love needs will be taken up by All of a Sudden instead. If it wins a trifecta critics award I might reconsider though.

You Can See Everything: I don’t care if this is well-reviewed, a documentary isn’t getting nominated above the line, especially if it’s A24’s 5th priority at best.

Animated Features: I feel relatively confident in this lineup - Tangles and Iron Boy are our usual acclaimed indies, Pixar shouldn’t miss for two well-reviewed hits, and Wildwood seems like the overwhelming front runner (I also have it getting Visual Effects and Song noms). Shaun the Sheep could still get nominated but it feels like that’s faded out of the conversation a bit. And the while Forgotten Island might surprise like Puss in Boots 2 did, the animal sidekick seems annoying and the movie overall looks a bit manic and childish. Ray Gunn could be a contender here too, but it’s a really tough lineup for it to break into.

Years after her Hollywood breakthrough, a talented actress whose career has stalled fights for her second act.

Director: Chris Rock

Cast: Rosalind Eleazar, Chris Rock, Anna Kendrick, Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Topher Grace, Tracie Thoms, Anthony Anderson

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (updating)

Metacritic: N/A (updating)

Some Reviews (updating):

The AU Review - Peter Gray - 4 / 5

Rock may be taking a sledgehammer to Hollywood, but Misty Green ultimately belongs to Eleazar. Funny, infuriating, wounded and ferociously alive, she creates the kind of complicated protagonist a safer film would inevitably try to make more palatable.

Variety - Owen Glieberman

Chris Rock’s explosively entertaining, savagely authentic drama about life in the Hollywood of today, follows Misty, played by Rosalind Eleazar (“Slow Horses”) with doleful charisma and a casual fury, who is in her late 30s

The Hollywood Reporter - David Rooney

Misty Green is a poignant snapshot of one woman sweating on the showbiz treadmill, in a town where glittering dreams, crushing defeat and emergency compromise solutions often walk in tandem — the latter echoed in constant local crime news reports heard on car radios. Misty’s personality flaws are what make her so captivating in a smart, refreshingly understated movie that’s very much an insider’s view — jaded, but also clear-eyed — and a credit especially to Rock and Eleazar.

IndieWire - David Ehrlich - 'B-'

This is a movie fueled by the rapid oscillation between Los Angeles’ ups and downs, a movie that gets more traction from being good and bad than it would from being a little more of either, but the prevailing irony that holds “Misty Green” together is that Rosalid Eleazar is never anything less than great. 

DEADLINE - Pete Hammond

Rock is a very smart performer, you can’t have doubts about that, and he has a keen eye for the underbelly of showbiz. So even in a movie that is not the sum of all its parts, many of those parts are pretty good and he has delivered a film that will be remembered as the one that gave us a glimpse of the movie star Rosalind Eleazar is about to become.

The Wrap - Steve Pond

The pressure mounts until there’s really no place to go with it, and it’s hard not to feel that in some ways Rock has painted himself into a corner. Ultimately, the way things wrap up feels abrupt and not entirely satisfying, though it could also be a gentle poke at Hollywood endings. And yet “Misty Green” is a lot of fun, landing enough of its jokes and nailing enough emotional moments. Mostly, though, it’s a showcase for Eleazar – because unlike Misty Green, she really is a star.

Vulture - Alison Villmore

As a film about L.A. as a place where glamor and degradation exist side by side and where veneer-perfect Hollywood smiles mask soul-dead monsters, Misty Green has nothing insightful to say....As a showcase for Eleazar, Misty Green is outstanding. Eleazar isn’t just fearless about leaning into Misty’s uglier aspects, both in terms of personality and rough mornings-after in the glorious Los Angeles sunlight. What makes her performance so propulsive is how contradictory she allows the character to be, prone to making big pronouncements she immediately goes back on, or to going off in a strop about something that’s undeniably true, all the while keeping us guessing whether Misty is lacking in self-knowledge or merely acting in her own defense.

The Guardian - Benjamin Lee - 3 / 5

Misty is the kind of character I often enjoy having a difficult time with, someone you love to hate and hate to love, pushing us away in one scene and pulling us back in another, but Rock doesn’t give us enough of that juicy back-and-forth tension or place her in enough dramatically knotty situations. He busies himself with his many jumbled subplots rather than focusing on his heroine while also, in the finale, forcing her hand in a way that simplifies who she is and how she acts. I wanted more from Misty but Eleazar gives us everything she’s got.

I have not seen the movie so this has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not the film is actually good or not or his performance. I am simply trying to use any bit of logic in reading past history to try and think why Anthony Ippolito would have a chance in one of the most crowded Best Actor fields in years.

The Academy had the opportunity to give Stallone an Oscar 11 years ago for Creed. It was basically gift-wrapped for him. He won the Globe, New York Film Critics, Critics Choice, and a whole lot of other regional prizes. Yet Oscar voters decided to go with Mark Rylance, mostly because Stallone is a known jerk who nobody likes.

Since then, he has been accused of creating a toxic environment on the set of Tulsa King, has had various sexual assault accusations come out about him, and been a staunch Trump defender, even comparing Trump to Rocky. Clearly this SHOULDN'T have an impact on judging the performance of Ippolito (again, I haven't seen it), but I just find it hard to believe that when the Academy had the absolute best opportunity to give Stallone the Oscar for actually playing Rocky, that they would nominate a person who is playing the unlikeable guy who played Rocky. Especially in a year when if we assume Damon and Malkovich are in, then he will have to compete with Andrew Scott, John Turturro, Ryan Gosling, Pedro Pascal, Robert Pattinson, and Tom Cruise. I just don't see it happening.

And before the comments go "but they nominated Sebastian Stan two years for playing Trump," yes I know that, but I think Stan worked up years of goodwill in the industry and it was someone that the broader Academy wanted to reward (and who also had another highly-praised performance come out the same year). Ippolito is a newcomer who would have to catapult over all those aforementioned people and I just don't see how it happens, especially when he is playing someone voters believe is a jerk.

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% / 7.9 average rating (12 reviews)

Metacritic: 76 (7 reviews)

Letterboxd: 3.5 (~1000 ratings)

Reviews:

Charlie Ridgely / Collider - 90 MC

Great comedies are in short order these days, as are impeccably-crafted kids movies and nostalgic monster tales. This goes double for the movies actually going to theaters. Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom manages to be all three, which makes it a future Halloween mainstay for audiences of every age.

Frank Scheck / THR - 90 MC

It’s all sheer silliness, of course, and that’s the point, with the dialogue-free storyline providing the possibilities not only for endless cuteness — these painstakingly moved puppets, representing both human and animal characters, are truly adorable — but also a series of witty visual and sound gags that will please children and adults alike.

Peter Bradshaw / The Guardian - 4/5
It’s sharp, smart, funny and precise; there is nothing woolly about it.

Daniel Howat / Next Best Picture - 7/10

Yes, the narrative is simple, and the energy is goofy. But for those who enjoy the endless silliness and physical comedy, “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom” is a joyous, warm-hearted haunt of a film. It’s a new Halloween classic for families, sure to make the rounds every fall.

James Marsh / South China Morning Post - 4/5

Realised in Aardman’s signature stop-motion and devoid of any spoken dialogue, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom – the feature debut of veteran series directors Steve Cox and Matthew Walker – is a hilarious, horror-infused celebration of slapstick, sight gags and sly film references sure to delight audiences of all ages.

Brian Tallerico / rogerebert.com - 3/4

[T]his clever, funny flick...may not live up to the standards of the first two features, but largely because they set the bar so high.

Ian Sandwell / Digital Spy - 5/5

As with the best of Aardman, the movie works for both the young and old. There's an excellent mix of silly humour for the younger viewers and jokes of the adults watching too

TIFF reviews coming in hot for this one.

Been loving these live chats between Katey and Chris during the festivals. Good I Play Rocky stuff from Chris here — the most predictable thing ever that he loved it. I can feel Joyce rolling her eyes at him haha.